Zamenhof did not give up the matter even then. He still hoped the Esperantists would see that, as he told the next year's congress in Cambridge, England, the green banner, symbol of the language, was also as the flag of a country - Esperantoland - which had not only its own language, but its own laws, customs and principles:
'In the depths of your hearts', he told them, 'you all feel the green banner: you all feel that it is something more than the mere emblem of a language. And the more we take part in our yearly congresses, the more we shall become brothers, and the more the principles of the green banner will sink into our souls. Many people join Esperantism out of simple curiosity, or for amusement, or perhaps even hoped-for profit; but from the moment they first visit Esperantoland they become, in spite of their own will, more and more drawn into and subjected to the laws of that country. Gradually Esperantoland will become a school for the future brotherhood of mankind, and in that will lie the chief value of our congresses.'
Zamenhof had suffered much on the joumey to England. After the congress he went to Bad Nauheim in Germany for six weeks' medical treatment. No doubt he hoped that upon his return home to Warsaw he would be able to recuperate, and once again devote himself to his medical practice and his Esperanto work. It was not to be so, for soon a sordid controversy exploded in Esperantoland.
During the first years of Esperanto's existence, various people had suggested changes they believed should be made in the language. Zamenhof hoped Esperanto would become a living language and would grow naturally in response to the needs of its speakers. But he was always cautious about introducing changes. Politely he considered all the 'reforms' that people offered, and he suggested that a Language Committee be created to deal with such matters. Many of the proposed changes were contradictory; one person might wish to change just the aspect that someone else liked best in the language.
Other changes Zamenhof himself had already considered and rejected. While they sounded good in theory, he felt they did not work in practice.
Some of those who suggested changes were well-intentioned Esperantists trying to help. Others, perhaps lured by the possibility of having some personal influence over the very form of a language, became obsessed with the idea of 'reforming' Esperanto. Zamenhof and others became alarmed at the prospect of Esperanto continually changing on the whim of anyone who felt the urge to make an 'improvement'. Zamenhof wished to preserve the integrity of his language, yet he was aware that conflict over reforms and the author's inflexibility had crippled Volapŭk.
Among those who had strongly opposed change was the Frenchman Louis de Beaufront. He was an enigmatic person and claimed to have given up his own international language project for Esperanto. De Beaufront had already become the center of controversy because of his desire to control the Esperanto movement in France. He was also one of the bitterest opponents of Homaranismo.
A Delegation for the Choice of an International Language had been formed in Paris largely through the effbrts of a French Esperantist named Louis Couturat in an attempt to influence the International Association of Academies to endorse Esperanto. Zamenhof was asked to choose someone to represent Esperanto before the Delegation Committee. He chose Louis de Beaufront. In spite of de Beaufront's past behavior, Zamenhof wished to show his trust in him, and he was certain that de Beaufront, who had always opposed reforms, would defend Esperanto from its critics.
But de Beaufront and Couturat deceived Zamenhof; their real intention was to put forward a 'new' language Couturat had secretly 'created' called Ido (which meant 'offspring' in Esperanto). When Ido was presented, it proved to be Esperanto, changed to incorporate the demands of the reformists. Suddenly, de Beaufront abandoned his position as the defender of Esperanto and spoke in favor ofIdo, leading everyone there to believe that the Esperantists approved of Ido. The committee voted to accept Esperanto as changed in accordance with Ido. When the Esperantists learned what had taken place, they were indignant. By the time it came to a final vote, most of the prestigious members of the committee abstained or had withdrawn, leaving only the Ido supporters, who of course voted to accept their own project.
Couturat now began a campaign of attacks against the Esperantists and Zamenhof himself. The mathematician and philosopher Bertrand Russell, an acquaintance of Couturat, wrote in his autobiography that Couturat's talk gave the impression that no people in the entire history of the human race had ever been 'quite so depraved as the Esperantist'.
When Couturat complained that the name of his language Ido did not lend itself to the formation of a term comparable to 'Esperantist', Russell suggested 'idiot' but Couturat 'was not quite pleased'.
The gentle Zamenhof endured the Idists' abuse patiently, though it grieved him deeply. But the behavior of de Beaufront was quite puzzling. He was an unhappy person who longed to be considered important, yet this was not enough to explain his treachery. He was already a popular and influential figure in the Esperanto movement and the president of an Esperantist society. Why did he, who for twenty years had worked for Esperanto, now renounce it and revile its founder? It has been suggested that de Beaufront's dramatic repudiation of Esperanto may have stemmed from his hostility toward Homaranismo. 'It is possible', Marjorie Boulton writes in Zamenhof, Creator of Esperanto, 'that de Beaufront, with his extravagantly intolerant nature came to hate Zamenhof over the question of Homaranismo and to want to hurt him.'
In 1908 at the Fourth Universal Congress in Dresden, Germany, Zamenhof did not spend his precious energy denouncing the traitors. Instead, he reminded the thirteen hundred Esperantists gathered there that only unity could lead them to their goal. Now, he said, let the episode be forgotten. 'Let us remember that our Congresses are a preliminary practice and education for this history of the future brotherhood of mankind. What are important for us are not some trivial extemal details of our language, but its essentials, its idea and its aim . . . perhaps the difference between the Esperanto of today and the evolved Esperanto of many centuries ahead will be great; but thanks to our careful protection the language will live vigorously, in spite of all attempts upon it, its spirit will grow strong, its aim will be achieved and our grandchildren will bless our patience.'
FOUR
Father and Daughter
When Lidia Zamenhof was born in 1904, her parents were already middle-aged: Klara was forty, Ludwik forty-four. Lidia's brother Adam and sister Zofia were grown up: when Lidia was two years old, Adam went to Switzerland to study medicine at the University of Lausanne, and Zofia followed a year later. Although Switzerland was far from home, it was practically their only choice if they wanted to become doctors. Only a small number ofJews were allowed to attend universities in the Russian Empire.
Except for occasional visits home, Adam and Zofia were away during most of Lidia's childhood. In later years the three of them would often be separated from each other, but the bond that linked them was a strong one and it endured in spite of long years apart.
As the only child left in the Zamenhof household, Lidia had her parents' attention to herself. She was their darling and their delight, but they did not spoil her. Dressed in a frilly, tiered dress, her shoes laced up above her ankles and a bow in her wispy blond hair, as she stood on a cushion to have her portrait taken, her round little face looked into the camera with a serious, almost solemn expression. Nearly all her photographs would show her with such a look. Her mouth tended to turn downward, so that her normal expression seemed one of secret sadness.